The Tunisian film stars Hend Sabri, Aya Chikhaoui, Nour Al Karoui, Ishraq Matar and Majd Mastoura.
The film received a 9-minute standing ovation and critical acclaim after its world premiere Friday, at the Palais des Congrès et Festivals de Cannes Global Village.
“Banat Olfa” is a cinematic remake that combines documentation and drama of the true story of Tunisian Olfa Hamrouni, who was raised in the media in 2016 after her two teenage daughters, Rahma and Ghufran, slipped into terrorism and joined the ranks of the terrorist organization “ISIS” in Libya, where they were arrested and imprisoned.
The director, Kawthar Ben Haniyeh, tells, through the story of the film, the details of the attraction of young people to hotbeds of tension and extremist ideology, the role of the family in their protection and the political reasons that have supported the slide into extremism, including the Brotherhood’s rise to power.
Kawthar Ben Haniyeh said in statements to French media that she heard the story of the intimacy on the radio when the mother spoke about the story of her two daughters sliding into extremism, and that she had the desire to make a film about adolescence and about the mother. relationship with his children at this point.
The director confirms that she has searched through the film for the apparent and hidden motives that could lead a 15-year-old girl to slide into terrorism and choose extremism and death, and explored the reasons for this by recovering their memories and their past.
Ben Hania considers that the story she tells in Cannes takes place in Tunisia “during the last years when we lived between darkness and light, and this coincided with the post-2011 phase when the old world disappeared and the new world has been delayed”, and that the film revolves around the idea of the contradiction between dark and light.
The Tunisian brilliance
• Pending the results of the participation of the film “Banat Intimité” in the official competition, Tunisian cinema won 3 prizes in the Critics’ Prize competition organized by the Arab Cinema Center on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival.
• The prize for best music went to Amin Bouhafa for the film “Sous l’arbre”, the prize for best director went to Youssef Chebbi for the film “Ishkal”, and the prize for best actor went to Adam Bassa for the movie “Haraqa”.
• Several young Tunisian filmmakers, who participated on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival to present their cinematographic projects and seek financing for them, were noticed and supported by the producers.
• Young director, Amna Al-Najjar, says in statements to ‘Sky News Arabia’ that she submitted her feature film project ‘Hayat’ after winning a production support grant seeking foreign partners .
• She underlined that the young filmmakers left a good impression on Belgian and French producers after presenting their project ideas, and that their presence in Cannes is a support experience for filmmakers initiated by the National Center for Cinema and Film. image, and must be developed.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
